Anchorage

Plage des Salins

4.3FranceVar

Shelter: W, NW
Seabed: sand
Anchoring: Allowed

Long sand beach on the eastern shore of the Saint-Tropez peninsula, 2.7 nm east of the town harbour.

Beach

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the north or east, threading between the cardinal marks, as reefs and shoals lie around the bay, including a shoal on one side; hold about 200 m off in 6 m or so. Sand bottom with good holding once the anchor is set through the surface weed, though it can foul on the rocky patches when lifting. Sheltered from W and NW, which covers the mistral. Fully exposed to the levant from E and to SE swell: shift to Saint-Tropez harbour or Port du Pilon if the wind turns.

Practical

Day anchorage off the beach. Saint-Tropez marina 2.7 nm to the west and Port du Pilon 2.9 nm to the west for overnight berthing. No services on the beach itself.

Ashore

Plage des Salins runs for about 600 m of sand backed by pines, with the Restaurant Les Salins on the beach, good but at Saint-Tropez prices. Jellyfish can gather inshore in summer. The Sentier du littoral coastal path goes south to Cap Camarat lighthouse in 4 km and north to the Tombeau Bachaga Boualam. Guy de Maupassant moored his yacht Bel-Ami along this shore in 1887 to 1888 and described it in the travelogue Sur l'eau.